Flower or ornament holder for garments.



No. 867,455. PATENTEDOGT.1,1907.

' e. WALKER.

FLOWER OB. ORNAMENT HOLDER FOR GARMENTS.

- APPLICATION FILED 3.2. 1906.

rm: NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNrTEn STATES PATENT oTTroE.

GEORGE WALKER, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed April 2, 1906. Serial No. 309,294-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WALKER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealthof Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Flower orOrnament Holders for Garments, of whichthe following is a specification.

The invention relates to devices for holding flowers or other ornamentsat the button-hole of garments, which dispenses with the use of pins andthe like, and it is applied with ease and celerity without any unusualconstruction or arrangement of the material of the garment and withoutin any way injuring it, ashas often been the case with devices for thisdescribed. p

The invention consists of a garment ornament holder having a base whichwhen in use extends upon one side of a lapel, for example, of a garment,across a slit or button-hole therein, and a pair of spring actuatedgripping members, supported by the base, and projecting at substantiallyright angles to the plane thereof, which gripping members are adapted toextend through said slit and grasp an ornament upon the side of thegarment opposite to the base.

The construction and operation of the device will be readily understoodfrom the description hereinafter contained in connection with theaccompanyingdrawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view-of thedevice formed from a single piece of wire; Fig. 2 is a plan of. the samedevice viewed from above it; Fig. 3 is an illustration of the device asused at hold a flower, the portion of the holder which constitutes thebase being indicated in broken lines at the back of a lapel of a coat;Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device stamped from sheet metal,looking toward the hooked gripping members; Figv 5 is a side elevationof the device shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a plan of the same with aflower stem shown in dotted lines between the gripping members lookingdown upon Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the holdersuch as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, showing the manner in which theactuating spring is compressed by the pressure of the thumb and fingerupon suitable projections on the arms, and the gripping members areseparated.

Referring to the specific illustrations in the drawings, a a areparallel arms of the holder, which form a part of the supporting basefor the gripping members or fingers f f secured to the inner end of eacharm a a, each of which members extends in a parallel directionsubstantially'at right angles to said arms, and to the plane in whichthe other portions of the base lie, so that they are adapted to extendthrough a button-hole or other slit in a garment and clasp a flower orother ornament upon the side of the coat lapel, for instance, oppositepurpose heretofore I where the respective portions l to that onwhich thesaid arms and other portions of the supporting base lie. Also it ispreferable to bend the ends of the gripping members to form hooks h h asshown, which when in use will more securely clasp and hold the ornament.

A convenient and economical way of making the spring and applying it tothe gripping members ff, is

wire, therefrom to the outer ends of thearms a a, are secured in anyconvenient manner. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the portions a aare integral or a part of a continuous wire with g g; while in Figs. 4to 7 the ends of the portions 9 g are looped into holes at the outerends of the parts a a. In the construction shown, the members ff areprevented from tilting upward when in use, by the portions of wire-gwhich bear upon the under surface of the material of the garment belowthe slit, and which extend from the spring s to the outer ends of thearms a a and constitute a portion of the base, and the gripping membersare prevented from tilting downward by other portions 1) b of the base,which bear upon said under surface above the slit and extend from thearms a a in the same plane as the portions g, but in the oppositedirection; and these portions 9 g, -b b, which constitute the supportingbase, also serve as means to prevent the holderfrom passing through theslit when in use. To facilitate compressing the actuating spring of thegripping members, a projection, as p, is provided at the outer end ofeach arm a a, so that by the pressure of the thumb and finger thereonthe spring may be compressed and the members f f separated for theinsertion of an ornament after those members have been passed throughthe button-hole.

The two arms a a are made so as to move past each other in parallelpaths when the members ff upon their respective inner ends are openedand closed; and to give firmness and uniformity to the operation, thearms are constructed so as to overlap and are interlocked by means of aneye or loop upon the end of each through which the opposite or companionarm passes, each eye sliding over the arm which passes through it whenthe members are opened or closed. In the position shown in the drawings,each gripping member and a portion 1) or 1) forms a part of, or issecured to, the arm which extends from the side opposite to that whichthe said portions respectively occupy in relation to each other; thatis, the memb er f and part b are upon the arm a, and member f and part bare upon the arm a, and an eye on the end of arm a engages the arm a,and an eye on the end of the arm a Referring to Figs. 1 and 7 forillustration, when the holder is manipulated to open the grippingmembers, the member f and part b which. are upon arm a move to the left,and the member f and part b which are to coil a wire, as at s, andextend the portions 9 of the I engages the arm a.

upon arm a move to the right, and when the members are closed or broughttogether again by the action of the spring, their respective movementsare reversed.

A convenient and economical construction is that shown in Fig. 1, inwhich the entire holder is formed by bending a single piece of wire intothe desired shape. Figs. 4, 5 6 and 7 illustrate a holder formed fromtwo pieces of sheet metal hinged together at 8 while the spring is aseparate piece of wire, the ends of which are in engagement with theprojections 19. The members f f and portions 1) b are integral withtheir respective arms, and are bent into the form and positionsillustrated. Fig. 7 shows the gripping members opened to receive theornament. As is evident, thereiore, the shape of the support tor, or thearms to which the gripping members are attached is not material,provided the gripping members are adapted to project through thebutton-hole or other slit in the material and are actuated by a springto close them together, and their supporting base is constructed withits parts all substantially in a plane at right angles to the length ofthe gripping members and extending radially upon all sides thereof, soas to serve as a guard to prevent the holder when in use from beingpulled through the slit in the garment, and the gripping members fromtilting when the ornament has been inserted between them on the side ofthe material opposite to the supporting base.

This device is especially designed for use in holding flowers at thebutton-hole of garments, and its capacity is from a single stem to alarge bunch of stems, for the gripping fingers may be pushed into abunch of any size and hold it by gripping those stems which pass betweenthe fingers. The ease with which the holder may be manipulated andaccomplish its purpose will be appreciated by the user.

I claim:

1. A flower or ornament holder for garments, consisting of a supportingbase which when in use is adapted to lie parallel with the surface ofthe garment, a pair of parallel arms which project into the areaincluded within a circumscribing line connecting the extreme limitsofthe base, a

pair of gripping members one attached to each arm, and which project atright angles thereto and to the plane of the base upon one side thereofwithin said area, and a spring to actuate each arm and tend constantlyto press the gripping members together.

2. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of parallel arms,a supporting base therefor which is adapted when in use to lie parallelwith the surface of the garment, a hooked gripping member attached toeach arm with the hook points turned in opposite directions in the sameplane, which members extend at right angles to the supporting base uponone side thereof within the area circumscribed by a line passing throughthe extreme limits thereof, and which members are adapted to projectthrough a button-hole and engage the ornament on the side of the garmentopposite to the base, and a spring to actuate each arm and tendconstantly to press the gripping members together.

3. A button-hole flower holder, comprisinga pair of interlockingparallel arms each provided with a gripping; member, which membersproject in the same direction at right angles to and upon one side ofthe plane, substair tially, in which said arms and the base of theholder lie, and within the area hounded by a line p: sing through theextremes of said base, which members also are adapted to pass through abutton-hole and grip a (lower on the side of the garment opposite tosaid arms, and a spring which tends constantly to press said grippingmembers together.

4. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of arms withparallel portions which overlap one another. a spring to actuate thearms, a. gripping member which projects from each of said parallelportions in the same direction at substantially right angles thereto andto the plane practically in which the parts of the base of the holderlie, and within the area bounded by a line passing through the extremelimits of the base. which members are constantly pressed toward oneanother by the arm actuating spring, and are adapted to extend through:1 button-hole and engage an ornament on the side of the garmentopposite to said arms.

5. A buttonhole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of arms withparallel portions which overlap and inter lock and are adapted to slidelongitudinally past each other within the area cirmunscribed by a linepassing through the extreme limits of the holder base. a spring toactuate said arms. a pair of gripping members, one o1 which is attachedto each of said parallel portions of the arms and projects therefrom atright angles to and upon one side of the plane in which the arms andbase of the holder'lie, and within said area of the base.

(i. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a supporting base, apair of parallel gripping members which project substantially at rightangles to the plane of the base upon one side thereof within the areacircumscribed by a line passing through the extreme limits of the basspring actuated arms to which the said members are attached and whichtend constantly to press the members together, and parts as b, I), whichserve as a part oi the. base and project from said arms in a directionsubstantially at right angles thereto aml to the said gripping membersand radially therefrom in a direction different from that of the otherportions of the base, but in substantially the same plane therewith, andwhich parts tend to prevent the gripping members from tilting while inuse.

GEORGE WALKER.

Witnesses Rnunnx L. Itonnn'rs, Fnonnxen A. COLLINS.

